Halls Hill Archives | Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation

Halls Hill Prayer Wheel restored by BARN

Halls Hill Prayer Wheel restored by BARN

On a serene hilltop overlooking Blakely Harbor, an unusual silence has reigned. The resonant chime of a 300-pound cast bronze bell, once a familiar sound to visitors of Halls Hill Lookout & Labyrinth, has been conspicuously absent.

But that changed last week, thanks to local artisans and modern technology.

“It’s something everyone loves and cares for, and it’s been such a challenge to repair,” says Mary Meier, Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation.

She’s referring to the bronze prayer wheel that has stood as a centerpiece of contemplation at the Lookout for over a decade.

Designed by the late sculptor Tom Jay, the Prayer Wheel is no ordinary monument. When spun nine times, it activates a bell inscribed with messages of faith and wisdom.

But after years of use and damage from […]

Halls Hill Prayer Wheel restored by BARNDouglas2024-10-01T10:40:05-07:00

Hyla, Madrona students do great work for parks

Hyla, Madrona students do great work for parks

Here’s a great note to close out the year: great kids doing great work in great parks.

Students from Hyla School turned out in numbers in November and December, for stewardship projects at Moritani Preserve and Halls Hill Lookout & Labyrinth.

At Moritani, kids from both Hyla School and Winslow’s Madrona School – together about 70 strong, counting teachers and a few helpful neighbors – stepped in to round up storm debris and install more than 100 new plants, after high winds scrubbed a community work party the weekend prior.

Yarrow, ocean spray, spirea, tall Oregon grape, red elderberry, vine maple and Pacific wax myrtle and other Northwest natives went in along the preserve’s east boundary, the focus of intense restoration work for the past year or more.

The work identifying and installing native plants aligned with the Hyla life science curriculum and the students’ recent studies, teacher Shelby Mann said.

Madrona School too, while […]

Hyla, Madrona students do great work for parksDouglas2024-02-07T10:55:42-08:00

Smart new bike racks at Halls Hill Lookout

Smart new bike racks at Halls Hill Lookout

Here’s a good reason to ride your bike to Halls Hill Lookout & Labyrinth this weekend. Two reasons, actually: a pair of custom bike racks to hitch your ride to once you’re there.

The bike racks – in the shape of the Parks & Trails Foundation’s “leaf” icon – were designed and crafted by Rory’s Custom Fabrication of Bainbridge Island.

The racks were installed by a team from Fairbank Construction, with help from Bainbridge High School interns Aidan Lee, Jasper Witten Carr and Finn Wenker.

The team poured concrete footings in mid-April, and Fairbank’s Phil Ohmes completed the installation this week once the footings were cured.

“Everyone coming by is digging them,” Ohmes says.

The internship gives the student first-hand exposure to “the trades,” construction and related industries that Ohmes says face a major shortage of workers. Fairbank’s Abigail Zelen says the benefit goes both ways.

“We get exposure by working with them and learning how […]

Smart new bike racks at Halls Hill LookoutDouglas2023-05-02T08:26:16-07:00

Stewarding the sublime at Halls Hill Lookout

Stewarding the sublime at Halls Hill Lookout

The labyrinth symbol crosses cultures, time and meaning: maze, prison or trap, path of pilgrimage or spiraling journey to inner peace.

Steve Grumm hews to the latter meanings in his spiritual practice, and calls the Halls Hill Labyrinth one of the most interesting and “organic” he has ever experienced.

“It’s a place for stopping, not working, and just ‘being,’” Grumm said. “Every time I walk the labyrinth, I leave in a different place than when I came. Where does this happen? You usually have to go to sacred space like a cathedral to get this experience.”

At least for a day, the Halls Hill Lookout & Labyrinth experience was less about “being” and more about doing. Grumm was among two dozen volunteers who turned out to tend the Lookout grounds, the first-ever stewardship event since the property was donated to the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation earlier this year.

Working […]

Stewarding the sublime at Halls Hill LookoutDouglas2021-05-21T13:12:53-07:00

Join us for Halls Hill volunteer day, April 29

Join us for Halls Hill volunteer day, April 29

Help keep Halls Hill Lookout & Landing beautiful and inviting at our first-ever volunteer stewardship day, Thursday, April 29. We’ll be spreading mulch around the grounds to protect and enance the native plants.

We’ll work in two small-group sessions for Covid safety, morning (10-noon) and afternoon (1-3 p.m.). Maximum signup is 10 per session, and we’ll add afternoon signups once the morning session fills up.

Questions? Email Brooke Drury, brooke@biparksfoundation.org. REGISTER TODAY

Join us for Halls Hill volunteer day, April 29Douglas2021-04-23T11:52:05-07:00

Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth donated to Parks Foundation

Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth donated to Parks Foundation

Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth, a beautiful meditative landscape that overlooks Blakely Harbor, has been donated to the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation to be managed for long-term public enjoyment.

The Halls Hill property is being donated by IslandWood founders Debbi and Paul Brainerd.

The Brainerds developed the property over the past 15 years as a contemplative wayside stop for Bainbridge residents who live, walk and bike nearby. It has become widely known for its beautiful stone mosaic labyrinth and Tibetan bronze prayer wheel, while others use it to rest in nature for quiet reflection.

A wooded path connects the prayer wheel and the labyrinth, with native trees and plants that create a buffer between these two distinct works of art. There are several areas to sit and enjoy the surrounding forest and the views of the harbor below.

“The Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth has been a favorite stop for neighbors and […]

Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth donated to Parks FoundationDouglas2021-04-16T07:30:11-07:00